The Clown Turned Out to Be Me

Third Concubine nodded.

The Grand Princess Royal frowned. "Why won't he listen to me? Would I ever harm him?"

After a pause, she asked, "Was it a serious quarrel?"

Third Concubine nodded again. "Madam was very angry."

"Why didn't you help smooth things over? What did I tell you before? You weren't sent there to compete for his favor, but to help the two of them live well together!"

"Yes, this servant was wrong."

After scolding Third Concubine, the Grand Princess Royal sighed. "Never mind. What does it have to do with you? He only just came back, and he was dissatisfied with this marriage from the start..."

Third Concubine lowered her eyes and said nothing.

Truth be told, let alone the marquis, even she, who had served the Grand Princess Royal for years, couldn't understand why the Grand Princess Royal had insisted on arranging such a marriage, though she was only an observer.

"No, I'll go and see for myself." The Grand Princess Royal was worried. "That boy needs a way to save face. Otherwise, the knot between husband and wife will only get harder to untie."

"But your health..."

She was fine, but she was pretending to be ill.

The Grand Princess Royal made it clear that she was stubborn.

What she said went.

Xu Weibei naturally didn't want her exerting herself at a time like this, but the Grand Princess Royal said she hadn't seen her granddaughter-in-law in a long time. Her granddaughter-in-law was also unwell, so she wanted to see whether someone in the residence had been blind enough to bully her.

She was going to stand up for her granddaughter-in-law.

Xu Weibei: "..."

Grandmother only wanted to put him on notice and tell him to treat Gu Wanning well.

But how was he supposed to put up with Gu Wanning pushing her luck, not to mention her troublesome father?!

"Madam, the marquis has no regard for you at all."

At the marquis's residence, Er Ya had heard that Third Concubine had gone with Xu Weibei to the Grand Princess Royal's residence. Furious, she paced back and forth in the room, brimming with righteous indignation.

The marquis was first in line for the honor of visiting the princess, but shouldn't madam have been second?

Gu Wanning had already returned to her room. Leafing through the account books, she said absentmindedly, "As long as the marquis is happy."

If Xu Weibei could leave everything concerning him to his concubines from now on and forget about her, she would wake up laughing in her dreams.

An even lovelier dream would be for Xu Weibei to banish her to the "cold palace" and give her the little courtyard.

Gu Wanning had asked to see the account books because Fourth Concubine had just complained to Xu Weibei that Gu Wanning had been withholding part of her monthly allowance.

Heaven and earth could bear witness: she had never done such a thing.

She couldn't take the blame, so she had asked the steward to bring her the account books.

She couldn't give Xu Weibei an excuse to attack her, so if there were any holes in the accounts, she would find them herself first.

But the more Gu Wanning read, the deeper her frown grew.

She discovered that all four concubines had indeed had money withheld from them.

It wasn't just their monthly allowances, either. Other funds, such as those for repairing the buildings, were supposed to be "earmarked for specific purposes." But of the fifty taels of silver allocated last month, for example, twelve taels had been taken out with no record of what they had been used for, merely circled in vermilion ink.

The account books were black and red all over.

The accounts were obviously crooked, yet crooked in plain sight: everything that couldn't be explained had been marked out in red ink.

"Explain this to me!" Gu Wanning flung the account book open at the steward's feet.

The steward was in his forties, with an honest, old-fashioned look about him. Who would have thought he was so dishonest!

Chapter 4: The Clown Turned Out to Be Me

The steward picked up the account book and lowered his head. "This is the silver Madam diverted from various funds. Over thr

ee ye

ars, it came to more than six hundred taels."

"I diverted it?" Gu Wanning could hardly believe it and refused to admit it.

"Indeed." The steward spoke unhurriedly. "Following your instructions, as the mistress of the marquis's residence, your spending was to take priority in all matters."

Gu Wanning: "..."

"Does... does the marquis know about this?" Gu Wanning suddenly felt guilty.

This ironclad evidence could knock her flat...

"The marquis only just returned, so he hasn't had time to hear my report."

What report are you talking about?!

Tattletales don't come to a good end!

Be good. Let's not mention it!

"There's no need to bring up such a minor matter in front of the marquis," Gu Wanning said, feigning nonchalance. "It's only six hundred taels of silver."

"Well..." The steward hesitated.

"I'll explain the accounts to the marquis myself. I'm in charge of the residence, and I made the rules. You answer to me, so even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up." Gu Wanning smiled faintly, though a hint of threat showed in her eyes.

"Yes." The steward gritted his teeth and agreed.

If he knew and failed to report it, the marquis might never find out, and even if he did, the steward might not be the "chief culprit."

But if he went and tattled, the marchioness wouldn't let him off now.

After sending him away, Gu Wanning sprawled across the table, all composure gone. "Aaaah—"

Where was she supposed to find over six hundred taels to fill the hole?!

Xu Weibei couldn't throw her out over six hundred taels of silver, but he could punish her with every justification.

That wouldn't do.

She had to find a way to cover the six-hundred-tael shortfall as soon as possible.

Er Ya said, "Why don't you go back and speak to the master? Perhaps he could give you some?"

Her maiden family?

Forget it.

The original owner hadn't been close to her maiden family.

She had only been brought back to the Gu family at twelve. How deep could her feelings for her family be?

Besides, her twin sister Gu Wanqing had grown up at home, while she had grown up on an estate. Her sister was both talented and beautiful, renowned throughout the capital, while she was vulgar and ill-mannered, a laughingstock.

With a difference like that, who could take it in stride?

People don't fear poverty so much as inequality. The original owner felt wronged, so naturally she made a fuss.

The result was a strained relationship.

Besides, Grand Secretary Gu's fortune was a Schrödinger's fortune—it might exist, or it might not.

Everyone outside said he was a great corrupt official who amassed wealth like mad and had a vast fortune.

But in the original owner's memories, Grand Secretary Gu never brought any silver home. Aside from his meager salary, there was nothing else.